Disclaimer: I was not compensated by any of the companies mentioned in this post. These are my opinions and mine alone.

Last Sunday, October 9th, I had the great honor of running the 32nd Army Ten Miler in Washington D.C. If you live in the area, heck even if you don’t, you NEED to race this race.

The day before the race, my running buddy and I headed to the expo at the DC Armory for packet pickup. I love the fact that it’s at the DC Armory because there is plenty of free parking and it’s located just outside of D.C., making getting in and out of the city a cinch.

TIP: Go to the expo about 2 or 3 hours prior to closing. Race gear (shirts, hoodies, mugs, etc.) will be steeply discounted. I bought a hoodie, a tech shirt, and Tervis travel mug all for $40. Score!

After the expo, my running buddy and I drove to our hotel, the Hyatt in Rosslyn, to get settled in before dinner. Any time we are running a big city race, we like to stay in a hotel the night before. It just makes race morning logistics a breeze instead of worrying waking up wwaayyyy too early and hitting gnarly traffic. And check out this blow dryer that was in the hotel room. Way to step it up Hyatt!

After unpacking, we were ready for dinner. Panera Bread is always a safe bet. Not too heavy but still filling. For me personally, I do not find it necessary to carb-load for a ten miler. I stick with a broth-based soup and sandwich. Another perk to eating Panera the night before a race? You can get your morning bagel too!

So fun story, the forecast for race morning was sunny with heavy winds and temps around 70 degrees F. We woke up at 5:30 am to 50 degrees F and rain. Whhattt?! So what did I wear for the race? A tank top and shorts of course.

Luckily, we always bring “throw-aways” (aka old, stained hoodies) to our races. We swear by it! Why waste energy shivering before the race actually starts? Luckily by race start at 8 am, the sun was out and it was starting to warm up. I absolutely love the start of this race. Normally the Golden Knights Parachute Team will jump with the American flag and land dead center on target, but this year because of the winds they were unable to do so. Total bummer! But at least there was the flyover of four UH-60 Army helicopters to kick off the race. I did catch a picture of one right before the start.

My game plan going into this race was just to have fun, but after the first mile I was feeling really good. Plus, I knew my boyfriend was waiting for me at mile 6. So that was definitely another reason I was feeling quite speedy!

After finishing and showering, my boyfriend and I headed to Union Market for a post-race treat. A napoleon and a latte. A nice way to celebrate another successful race. 🙂

A quick summary of the Army Ten Miler

Pros:

Well-organized

Great race gear

Tons of military pride

Fast, flat course

Cons: This is kind of a given since it is D.C., traffic trying to leave the race can be a nightmare. Roads are closed and it is very congested.